Comcast tests hybrid Internet-cable device

Comcast is testing a new service that knits together television and the Internet, in an effort to compete against other integrated service providers.

Under the new system, which is being tested in Augusta, content flows through a set-top box that combines features of the Internet with those of a DVR. Users can watch and search a selection of online video through their televisions and search across live, on-demand and recorded programming.

The service, known to participants as ‘Spectrum’ and internally as ‘Xcalibur’, doesn’t let participants freely browse the Web, though they do have some basic connections to social networks to comment on television shows, according to reports.